Laws and African-American Iowans

African-Americans who came to Iowa
in the early 1800s knew that slavery was illegal here. In 1820 before Iowa
was a state, the U.S. Congress had passed a law called the Missouri Compromise
which made slavery illegal in parts of the area known as the Louisiana Purchase
including Iowa.

Black Codes

Even though slavery was outlawed
in northern states such as Iowa, African-Americans were not always welcome.
Many northern states passed laws known as "Black Codes" to discourage
African-Americans from moving north. Iowa was no different. In 1838 lawmakers
passed laws that made it difficult for African-Americans to move to Iowa.

Another of Iowa's Black Codes,
called the "Act to Regulate Blacks and Mulattoes," included bills
that limited the rights of African-Americans. They were not allowed to vote,
serve in the military, or testify in court against a European-American person.
African-American children were not allowed to attend Iowa's schools. A year
after these laws were passed, legislators made interracial marriage illegal.

African-American communities often
had to organize their own cemeteries because it was illegal to bury African-Americans in some town cemeteries.

Racist laws encouraged European-American
Iowans to discriminate against African-American Iowans. Without the law on
their side, they experienced prejudice and unfair treatment for decades. But
slowly, these injustices were reversed.

Suffrage

In 1868 Iowa was the first state
outside New England to grant African-American men the right to vote. Minnesota
also made it legal for African-American men to vote in 1868. These victories
in Iowa and Minnesota led the national movement for the 15th Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution in 1870, which allowed all men to vote regardless of
their race. It would be another 50 years until all women— African-American
and European-American— were given the vote.

Civil Rights

In addition to the suffrage movement,
the fight for civil rights is another important chapter in Iowa history. Civil
rights are the basic rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution. In 1884
the Iowa legislature passed the Iowa Civil Rights Act, outlawing discrimination
in barbershops, theatres, hotels and on public transportation. In 1892 another
law was passed that said discrimination was illegal in restaurants. While
Iowa was the fourth state in the country to pass such laws, they were largely
ignored. Finally, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission was established in 1965
to rid Iowa of discrimination.